


Twin Trouble

by Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan



Category: NCIS
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-03 07:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17280074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan/pseuds/Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan
Summary: The DiNozzo twins get into trouble in school. Something far darker than simple pranks gets uncovered in the process while Tony and Ziva find out just what happened. Part of the "You Complete Me" universe.





	1. The Girls' Version

**Author's Note:**

> This story is much darker than most of my stories. If you don't like emotional distress bordering on emotional abuse, don't read.

Twin Trouble

_Beth and Rivka get in trouble at school which uncovers something much darker than simple pranks. Mid-November 2030._

Chapter 1: The Girls' Version

Ziva listened to the voice message on her phone for the third time. The elementary school principal was calling regarding the twins getting into trouble: "Mrs. DiNozzo, this is Larry Benton, please call me back at your convenience to schedule a parent conference with Rivka and Beth's teachers. It seems these two are taking up their brother's legacy." Had the message been about LJ getting into trouble, she would not have been surprised. The twins had never been in trouble so far in elementary school and they were now in the third month of grade five.

Ziva made a mental note to have Tony listen to the message at home after dinner. She sent a text message to her husband, Gibbs, and Tali that she was leaving NCIS and headed home. Her work today had been all at the Navy Yard and she had left right after the kids got on the school bus that morning. As she started out of the parking lot, she had messages back from Tali and Gibbs. Tali was home with LJ and Anthony, and Gibbs was getting the twins from gymnastics practice.

Ziva pulled into the driveway at home just behind Tony. Gibbs' truck was already there. Tony waited for her to get out of the minivan, and kissed her. "Long day, sweetcheeks?"

"You do not know the half of it." Ziva had to deal with an ornery computer as well as a sick coworker for most of the day. "Then, I listened to my messages."

Tony nodded, "Rivka and Beth?"

"Yes," Ziva sighed, "I guess you got the message as well?"

"Yep; I wonder what they've done. Of all the kids, those are the last two I would have expected to be in trouble in school." Tony, like Ziva, would have not been surprised if the troublemaker had been Anthony, Tali or LJ. Anthony often was in trouble with his cousin John McGee. The twins had never had any trouble at school.

Ziva and Tony went inside to the smell of food; Tali and Gibbs were making meatloaf, mashed potatoes and salad for dinner. "Hi, Ima and Abba," Tali hugged her parents and then went back to slicing vegetables for the salad. Ziva hugged Gibbs, "Hello, Abba."

Gibbs gave Ziva a one-arm hug, "Hey, Ziver; the other kids are doing homework in their rooms. There's a note from one of the twins' teachers on the counter."

Tony picked the paper up from the counter. "I got a message from the principal, as did Ziva. I wonder what they did."

Gibbs looked at Tony and shrugged, "They wouldn't say anything when I asked them individually if they wanted to talk."

"Thank you for trying, Abba. I guess we will have to wait until after dinner to try to get their version. Until we set up a conference at the school, we will not have the school's version." Ziva planned to call first thing in the morning to schedule a meeting at the school.

Gibbs went to LJ's room to let him know it was time to set the table for dinner, and let the other three know that dinner would be ready in about twenty minutes. Rivka and Beth didn't make eye contact, but acknowledged his message, "Thanks, Grandpa.'

At Anthony's room, Gibbs knocked and asked if he could come in. "Sure, Grandpa. What's up?" Anthony turned to his grandfather.

"Do you know anything about Rivka and Beth getting in trouble at school? Did they ask you to help them or anything along those lines?"

"Nope," Anthony shook his head and made eye contact with Grandpa. "They really got in trouble?"

"Seems so." Gibbs turned to go back to the kitchen, "Dinner's in fifteen."

The family gathered for the meal and both Ziva and Tony asked the kids about their days. Anthony's project for the science fair had been set up and he had done one demonstration for the judges so far. His eighth grade football team had a game on Thursday after school against one of their long-time rivals.

Tali's classes were going well, and her first term of joint enrollment classes with the local community college was probably her favorite term of high school so far. She was hoping that by planning her schedule carefully for the next two school years that she would have both her high school diploma and an Associates' degree completed at the end.

LJ reminded his Ima that he needed to by some paint brushes for his afterschool art class. Gibbs offered to take LJ to the art supply store on Saturday to pick up the supplies. "Toda, Grandpa," LJ was looking forward to a trip to the store with his grandfather.

Neither Rivka nor Beth said much during dinner, only answering questions asked directly to them by one of the adults, and with short responses. Tony met Ziva's glance. Something was not right with the twins; usually they were talkative and full of smiles and stories about their day. Hopefully, one of the parents would be able to get them to talk after dinner. Both girls had load the dishwasher chores tonight, so Ziva figured that she and Tony might get something out of them while in the kitchen.

As the girls cleared the table, Gibbs steered the other three into the family room and suggested they watch a movie or play on the Xbox. "Grandpa, will you play a game with us?" LJ asked.

"Yes, what game will we all play?" Gibbs nodded at Anthony's selection of the bowling game. Anthony and LJ both knew that was Grandpa's favorite of the games they had and he even played the bowling with Abba, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Abby.

In the kitchen, Ziva put away the leftovers and Tony sat at the counter with the note from the school in his hand. The twins looked at their parents and sighed. "When you are done with your chores, we will sit down and discuss this, understood?" Ziva made eye contact with each of her daughters as they nodded their heads. Neither one looked very happy, and Tony almost felt sorry for them. However, he had learned with the other three that empathy and sympathy were not always good traits when parenting a misbehaving child.

The dishwasher was loaded, the food was put away, and Ziva directed the girls to the breakfast nook table. Tony followed and all four sat down; neither girl would look at her parents.

"Do you want to tell me what this is about?" Tony looked at Rivka and then at Beth.

Ziva took the paper and added, "We know that Mrs. Griffith is one of the teachers that both Tali and Anthony seemed to get in trouble with a lot." She looked at her twins, waiting for one of them to start talking.

"She made us mad, Ima," Rivka spoke up first. "She said something mean to Beth and I lost it."

"Yeah, Riv, but I also got upset and then lost it, too." Beth wasn't going to let her sister take all the blame. "Ima, it was so not fair that Mrs. Griffith was mean to me. I tried to explain that to Mr. Benton, but the old witch wouldn't shut up."

Tony looked up at Beth. His number three ninja didn't have a mean bone in her body; she was always the first to forgive others and to look for good in any situation. He wanted to tell her not to be disrespectful but Ziva gave him a look that made him bite his tongue.

"Abba, I know I shouldn't call her bad names, but she really is an old witch." Beth looked at her parents, and continued. "I called her the b word to her face. She got really mad at me and just about dragged me to the office. Rivka tried to get her to let go of me and she bit the old battle-ax on the hand."

Ziva looked at Rivka, "You BIT her?"

Rivka nodded, "But I didn't break the skin. I just left red marks on her hand. She tasted nasty and I wanted to spit after I bit her."

"What did she say to Beth that got you both so upset?" Tony had to know what the woman had said about his girls.

"I won't get in trouble for saying bad words if I tell you?" Rivka asked her Ima. Ziva shook her head. "Somebody tied her chair to her desk and she grabbed Beth's arm. She said that she knew that the prankster was either Beth or me or both of us, because we are DiNozzos and DiNozzo children are sneaky, conniving hellions."

Ziva took a sharp breath in, and Tony placed his hand on hers to calm her. He was probably as upset as his wife, but tried not to show too much emotion until they heard the full story. He had a feeling there was more.

Beth spoke up, "But when Rivka came over to see what was the matter, that is when Mrs. Griffith said the really mean thing and Riv lost it and then I did. She saw Rivka coming over to me, and she looked at me and asked me if I was the evil twin or if my sister was. Then she laughed and said that we were both evil, and so were Tali and Anthony and Ima. I asked her why she said that, and she called us spawn of a terrorist. Ima, what did she mean?"

Ziva was seething, "I intend to find out as soon as possible! What did you do when you lost it, Rivka?"

"I kicked her and told her to let go of Beth. I told her that I would have her arrested by Uncle Tim for being a mean old bitch." Rivka was not proud of how she had acted, but she felt the need to defend her sister, especially after being called evil and being accused of something they had not done.

"And then I lost, it, Ima and Abba. I saw her grab Riv's arm really hard and she was hurting my twin. I punched her arm, trying to make her let go. Then I called her a nasty old bitch."

Beth continued, watching her Ima and Abba, who she could tell were getting angry, "Another teacher came in the room at that point, and she told him that we had attacked her. I yelled at him that she was a damn liar, and that I hated her."

Ziva had to control her temper, and she could see that Tony was having similar issues with his temper. "What happened after that?"

"Two of the special ed aides came into the classroom and pulled us apart. We were walked to the office and Mr. Benton talked to Mrs. Griffith while we waited outside. Then he talked to the other adults, and finally called us in with everyone else there. He asked us what happened, and we tried to tell him, but Mrs. Griffith kept interrupting and telling him that we were lying." Rivka was crying and she held Beth's hand. "He called your cell and then Abba's and we heard the messages he left. We were both crying because nobody wanted to hear our version of what happened."

Beth picked up the next part, "He finally sent the adults out and asked us to tell him our side. I think he finally believed us when one of the special ed aides said that he had overheard the mean comments. How much trouble are we in?"

Tony took a deep breath, "Ima and I will have to discuss this and also talk to the school. While your language was disrespectful and not appropriate, we need to know more before we can decide what happens next." Ziva nodded as Tony spoke, glad that he had been the one to answer. She was still quite angry.

~Twins~

After the twins and the other kids went to bed, Ziva told Tony she needed to cool off and went for a run with Asher. Tony took Daisy for a walk to cool off as well, after letting Tali know that he and Ima were out of the house for a bit. They met back in the yard, and Tony let the dogs off their leashes into the front door. Ziva sat on the front steps with Tony. Neither one said anything for several minutes, both lost in thought at what their daughters had told them of the day's events.

Tony spoke first, "I am going to take a personal day tomorrow, so that we can get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. I am still angry, but I want to hear the school's version of the events."

"You sound like an investigator, Tony! I agree, though, that we need to meet with the principal and the teachers as soon as we can. We can call first thing in the morning and set up a conference at the school." Ziva was also still angry and wanted answers. "Did you see the bruise on Rivka's arm?"

"The one that is the shape of a hand? Yes." Tony wanted answers, "I intend to find out why my daughter was grabbed hard enough to leave a bruise. Did you take a picture?"

Ziva nodded and pulled up the photo on her phone. "I did not think to check Beth for a bruise. We should remember to do that in the morning."

"Good idea. Let's go inside and try to get some sleep, Zi." Tony stood up and reached out his hand to help Ziva up. He pulled her to him, and wrapped his arms around her. "Ani ohev otcha."

Ziva leaned her head on Tony's chest and listened to his heartbeat, the steady rhythm calming her and soothing her anger to a low simmer. She sighed, "Let us go inside before Asher wears a hole in the carpet worrying about us coming in."


	2. At the School

Chapter 2 At the School

The following morning, Ziva checked Beth for bruises and found two on her arm, one very definitely a hand shape. She took pictures of both bruises and asked Beth about them. Beth thought they were from being grabbed by the arm by one of the teachers, but she wasn't sure which one.

Tony decided to drive the girls to school after Ziva showed him the bruises on Beth. He asked Ziva if she wanted to go with him, but she had to help Anthony get another part of his science project to school. "I will meet you at the elementary school after I drop off Anthony."

Since Tali was driving herself to school, only LJ would have gone on the bus, so Tony told him to get in with his sisters. He drove the three youngest kids to the school and parked in the visitor's space by the main entrance. "Do you want me to walk to your classroom with you?" he asked the girls.

"No, Abba," Rivka was quick to reply.

"We're good, Abba," Beth echoed her sister.

Tony went into the main office and signed the visitors' log. He sat in one of the chairs and waited for Ziva to arrive. One of the office workers asked Tony who he was there to see, and he replied that he wanted to see the principal, Mr. Benton. "He should be in his office in about half an hour. Do you mind waiting?"

"No, I can wait until he has a free moment. My wife is also on the way."

The woman looked at the sign-in log, "Oh, Mr. DiNozzo! I will let him know that you're here. He definitely wants to meet with you."

"Okay, please make sure that he knows that my wife is also going to be here for the meeting." As Tony was responding, Ziva walked in the door. She walked over to Tony, and he turned to her, "We should be meeting in about half an hour."

Ziva nodded and the couple sat back in the waiting area. The bell for the beginning of the school day rang. A few minutes later, the assistant principal came on the P.A. "Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance." Ziva and Tony stood, facing the flag on the wall behind the office desks. They recited the Pledge with the rest of the school and Ziva noted that two of the office workers did not participate. One of them was watching her and it made Ziva uncomfortable.

After the assistant principal had everyone take their seats, she began reading the daily announcements. Ziva turned to Tony, her voice almost a whisper, "Do you see that woman in the back watching me? She did not say the Pledge, and she watched me the whole time. She is watching us now."

Tony took Ziva's hand in his, and glanced around the room. The woman was indeed watching Ziva and him. She glared at Tony and wrote something on a note pad. "She's a bit creepy, if you ask me," Tony whispered back. Ziva nodded her head, and Tony squeezed her hand. "Ignore her if you can; I'm not going to give her a second thought."

"I will try," Ziva turned slightly towards Tony, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Tony watched the woman scowl at them. He thought about saying something in Hebrew to Ziva, just loud enough for the woman to hear, but then thought better of it.

The principal, Mr. Benton, came into the office from his morning stroll around the school. He believed in being visible to the students during the day, walking every hallway in the morning, and having lunch with students in the cafeteria. "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo, I will be with you in about fifteen minutes."

"Thank you," Ziva responded.

The phone on the creepy woman's desk rang; she answered it and then moved to Tony and Ziva. "Mr. Benton asked me to show you to the conference room. Follow me." She spoke to Tony and seemed to be ignoring Ziva. They followed her down a short hallway to the conference room. She motioned for the couple to enter the room.

As Ziva walked past, the woman said, "I'm watching you. I don't like foreigners, you know, especially your kind."

Tony heard the comment and turned to his wife, "Zi, nassi lehishaer regu'ah, tov?" (Try to stay calm, okay?) The woman glared at Tony and then again at Ziva. Tony could see the anger building in Ziva and if it was half of what he felt, God help the woman if she said anything else.

Ziva smiled at the woman as she replied to Tony, "Ken, ani anessah." (Yes, I will try.)

The couple took seats at the conference table side by side. Tony intertwined his fingers with Ziva's and gently squeezed her hand. She looked at him and they spoke volumes with their eyes. Both were too angry to speak in words.

The principal walked into the conference room. "We have a rather interesting situation with the girls." Ziva and Tony nodded their agreement. "From what they told me, I believe they acted in self-defense. From what the teacher involved claims, Beth and Rivka attacked her without provocation. The classroom aide who witnessed most of the incident backs the twins' version. Do you have anything to add before I call in the various individuals involved?"

Ziva scrolled through the pictures on her phone as Tony spoke, "We have pictures of hand-shaped bruises on both girls' arms. I also have a voice recording of some things your office aide said to my wife this morning. Based on Rivka and Beth's comments to us last night, I believe there's more than just some harmless pranks going on here."

Ziva showed Mr. Benton the pictures of her daughters' arms with the bruises. He asked her to send them to him via message, which she promptly did. Tony pulled up the voice recording he had made while he and Ziva were being escorted to the conference room. Mr. Benton asked Tony to forward the voice file to his email.

"I want an explanation for the comments made to my children," Ziva spoke for the first time. "I also want to know why some adult grabbed both girls hard enough to leave bruises."

Tony added, "I also want an apology to my wife for the comments made this morning and to my daughters for the comments made to them about my wife." Tony was livid, but tried to remain calm. Ziva squeezed his hand in hers, showing her support for his requests. "Legally, I am not sure if there are other avenues we can pursue, but I do want something on the record about the comments from the teacher in question and the office person to my family. It is unacceptable to me to have my family treated with disrespect."

"I agree with you, Mr. DiNozzo. Mrs. DiNozzo, I apologize for the comments and tell you that those types of comments are unacceptable to me and I will deal with the individuals involved. Let me call in the aide first. The principal went into his office and called the aide to the conference room.

A few minutes later, a tall man walked into the conference room; Tony and Ziva both rose and shook his hand.

"Tony DiNozzo."

"Ziva DiNozzo."

"Jeremy Mason."

They all sat at the table and Mr. Benton asked the aide to tell his version of what had happened. The man's version corroborated that the teacher had made the first contact with Beth, grabbing her by the arm as she walked past. He had also heard the evil twin comments and the other nasty words. Tony and Ziva both thanked him for coming forward to give a witness statement.

"I just want the truth to be told and to help the twins. They are two of the nicest and most considerate students in the fifth grade. I wish we had a lot more like them. You should be proud of your daughters, Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo."

"Thank you," Tony smiled at the man.

"Yes, thank you. We have tried to be sure all of the children show respect to everyone." Ziva explained.

Mr. Benton thanked the aide and opened the door for the man to leave. He called the next teacher in to the room. The male teacher had a student with him. The girl looked at the adults seated at the table with wide eyes, shrinking back slightly. Tony and Ziva stood and shook hands with the teacher.

"Ziva DiNozzo."

"Andrew Light."

"Tony DiNozzo."

"This is Kaelyn Hadad. She came to me this morning to tell me what she saw and heard. Mr. Benton asked me to bring her to this meeting."

Ziva held her hand out to the girl, "Hi. Thank you for speaking up. I am Mrs. DiNozzo." The girl shyly reached out and shook Ziva's hand.

All of them sat back down at the table, and Kaelyn told what she had seen and heard, corroborating the twins' version of the events. "And Mrs. Griffith said the mean words to Beth loud enough for the whole class to hear. She has called them and me 'little terrorists' in front of the whole class many times before. I don't understand why she says those things."

"You are brave and strong, Kaelyn. Do not let the name calling by one ignorant person change who you are," Ziva smiled at the girl, giving her a thumbs' up gesture. "Thank you for telling us this information."

Mr. Benton also thanked Kaelyn for speaking up and sent her back to her class. He turned to Mr. Light, "Thank you for encouraging her to speak out. Would you please tell Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo what you saw and heard?"

Mr. Light's version of the altercation also corroborated the twins' story. Tony and Ziva made eye contact as the principal went to his office to call Beth and Rivka from class.

"I think the pattern is quite clear at this point," Ziva spoke quietly to Tony. "This teacher has a problem that begins with bigotry."

Tony nodded his agreement, "She's not the only one, and it seems to be directed at more than just our kids. I wonder if it's more than the twins and Kaelyn currently. Tali and Anthony may also be able to tell us if others in their classes were treated similarly."

A few minutes later, Rivka showed up alone and in tears. "Where's Beth?" Tony asked.

"She was not allowed to come with me," Rivka explained to the adults. "Mrs. Griffith said that if we were allowed to leave together that we would blow up the school or kill people or worse. Why did she say such a mean thing?" Rivka's tears ran down her face as her Ima hugged her.

Ziva sighed, "I wish I knew yaldati." Tony rubbed Rivka's back with his hand. He was too angry to say anything, but he knew he could at least provide a comforting touch to his number two ninja.

"I'm going to get Beth myself," Mr. Benton moved to leave the conference room. "Mr. DiNozzo, would you come with me, please? We'll be back as quickly as possible." He and Tony walked silently to the fifth grade wing. They got to the classroom and entered, looking for Beth. Tony didn't see her at her desk or anywhere in the classroom, for that matter. "Where is Elizabeth DiNozzo?" the principal asked.

Mrs. Griffith looked at him with an angry look in her eyes. She said nothing and glared at Mr. Benton, Tony, and the students in the room. Several of the students fidgeted at their desks and kept glancing towards the closet in the back of the room. Tony noticed their eyes shifting and followed to where they were looking. He strode angrily to the closet and tried to turn the knob. It was locked.

He turned to the boy sitting nearest, "Is my daughter in here?" pointing to the closet. The boy nodded and tried to speak.

"If you say one word, James Washington, you will be disciplined for speaking without permission," Mrs. Griffith glared threateningly at the boy. James looked among the adults, confused and scared.

Tony moved by the boy's side, "It's okay, James, you won't get in trouble, I promise. Is Beth in the closet?"

"Ye-e-es, sir," James spoke almost in a whisper. "SHE," pointing to the teacher, "made Beth go in the closet for punishment when Rivka left to go to the office. Please don't let her put me in there too."

"OPEN IT NOW!" Tony shouted at the teacher as Mr. Benton moved to get the key from the woman. Tony tried to control his temper, knowing that going into Papa Bear mode would not be helping matters any.

"ABBA, help me," Beth cried from the closet, her voice muffled. Tony could tell she had been crying. He was also glad that Ziva had stayed behind with Rivka in the conference room. One angry and upset parent in the classroom was one too many, although if Ziva had come with them, she probably would have picked the lock already. Tony looked over the door, noting the hinge pins were on the outside. He would tear the door off its hinges if he had to do so to free his daughter.

Mr. Benton passed by Tony with the key and unlocked the door. Beth ran to her father, "Abba!" Her tears ran down her face as Tony hugged her to him.

"It's going to be okay, Beth…" Tony rubbed her back with his hand and placed a kiss on her head. "Come with us to the conference room; Riv will be glad to see you." Tony steered his number three ninja towards the door of the classroom, his arm firmly around her shoulder.

Mr. Benton told James to follow the two and sat down at the teacher's desk. He called the assistant principal on the phone to have her come to sit with the class, telling her that he would explain when she got there.

Tony walked back to the conference room with Beth and James. He asked both of them about punishments involving the closet and being locked inside. Both kids confirmed what Tony suspected; the teacher used confinement to the closet as punishment with certain children in the classroom.

James hesitated, then blurted out, "She puts kids she calls names in the closet, sir. She calls me and Jasmine 'cotton picker slave descendants,' Riv, Beth, and Kaelyn 'terrorists in training,' and Amy Ly and Jason Fong 'Asian dogs.' Why does she do that, Mr. DiNozzo?"

Tony suspected that she called them worse names and the boy didn't want to repeat the names. He wanted to go back and slap the stupid out of the woman at the boy's words, but he stayed calm. "I don't know why some people are so bigoted, James. Thank you for helping Beth and for telling me this."

Tony opened the conference room door and motioned for the two children to go inside. Ziva spotted Beth and ran to hug her daughter. She stroked Beth's hair and wiped tears from her face. "Are you okay, yaldati?"

"I am now, Ima," Beth hugged her Ima and waved to her twin.

Ziva looked at James and then at Tony with a questioning look. "I'll explain when Mr. Benton returns," Tony looked into Ziva's gaze, letting her know that he had a lot more to say with his eyes. Ziva could see the anger in his face and eyes. Whatever had happened had brought out an anger in Tony that Ziva had only seen a few times before.


	3. The Tip of the Iceberg

Chapter 3: The Tip of the Iceberg

Several minutes later, Mr. Benton returned with Kaelyn and two other girls; Tony looked at the group and wondered if the two girls were Jasmine and Amy. He didn't have to wait long to have his guess confirmed when Rivka greeted the two by name.

"Hi, Jaz; hi, Amy; what're you doing here?" Rivka greeted her classmates. Beth looked up from Ziva's shoulder and smiled at her friends.

Mr. Benton motioned for everyone to have a seat at the table, "If all of you students would please sit on this end of the table; Beth and Rivka, you as well, please." He indicated the end away from himself and the DiNozzo parents. "Jason should be here as soon as he gets out of his reading class."

As he spoke, there was a knock at the door. He moved to the door and his assistant spoke, "Jason is here; do you want him inside?" He nodded and moved aside to allow the boy to enter.

"Please sit with the others," he placed a hand on Jason's shoulder as he moved the boy towards his classmates. "You aren't in trouble."

"Mr. Benton, you need to get Maria and Marco Santillo, and Jorge Fernandez here, too," Rivka spoke up. She had figured out why they all were here and decided that ALL of the kids from her class who had been subjected to the same name calling and punishments needed to be included. "That's all of us this year…"

The principal nodded at Rivka and smiled reassuringly; he moved to the door to have his assistant bring the other three students from class. "This is growing in leaps and bounds; are there any more possible children that could be included? I sure hope we can identify them all soon!"

Ziva looked at her daughter at that last sentence. What did she know? Tony's first thought was that the mistreatment of the children had been on-going for many years; he wondered if Rivka had spoken to Tali and Anthony or others from prior years. Counting the three she had just named, that made ten students in the class who had been unfairly picked on or subjected to the pattern of bigotry. If he remembered correctly there were twenty two in the class total; almost half of the class!

"Assarah yeladim," Tony whispered to Ziva. ( _Ten children_.)

"Ken, Abba," Beth had heard her father. She confirmed his count. "Zeh hakol." ( _That is all_.)

"Toda," Ziva spoke through gritted teeth. Her anger was boiling near the surface. She could see Tony seething as well. Ten innocent children had been subjected to one or more adults' hostility and bigotry because of their heritage. To her there was only one word: unacceptable!

The other three fifth graders arrived and joined their classmates in the conference room. All of them had been reassured that they were not in trouble. Mr. Benton's assistant had arranged with the cafeteria to have the children's lunches brought to the office. She had also ordered lunch trays for the adults.

As they waited for the food to arrive, Mr. Benton explained to everyone what would be happening that afternoon. All of the children's parents had been contacted and most were on their way to the school. Each of the children would be given an opportunity to tell their version of the incidents and punishments with parents present. The school district was also sending an attorney to be present for the sessions. Parents would be advised of their rights and whether consent forms would need to be signed. Parents would also be given the chance to contact legal representation if they chose.

Once everyone was present, the group would be given more information. Tony and Ziva took all of this in, hands linked the entire time. While both were glad that the issues had been uncovered, they also knew that the road ahead was going to be long. Since their children were involved, both wondered how it would affect their family.

"I have one question," Tony asked. "Will the FBI be called in to investigate?"

"At this point I cannot give you a definitive answer; however, since this appears to be a Civil Rights violation, it is very likely." Mr. Benton spoke honestly. He knew that both DiNozzo parents were Federal agents and that they would want answers. Considering the information from the children so far, he had a feeling this would be an ongoing issue at least through the school year and maybe beyond. Also knowing that the two older DiNozzo children had run-ins with the same teacher, he had a feeling that the family would be more involved than some of the others.

As the group waited for parents of the others to arrive and the children ate lunch, Tony and Ziva stepped out to call Gibbs and Tali. Tony called Gibbs to have him pick up LJ at the end of the school day and take the boy to his house. Tony gave a very brief synopsis of what they knew so far; he could hear the anger in Gibbs' voice as the older man replied. Tony then had one of the office personnel get a message to LJ's teacher that his grandfather would be picking him up instead of the boy riding the bus home today.

Ziva had called Tali while Tony was talking to Gibbs. Tali had just left her college English class and was headed to her car to drive home. Ziva explained what was going on at the elementary school and asked Tali to pick up Anthony at the middle school and bring him to the elementary school. She then called the middle school to let them know that Tali would be arriving to check her brother out in about thirty minutes.

As the couple headed back to the conference room, the teacher from the twins' class was angrily demanding to face the students and their parents, claiming that she was being falsely accused of wrong-doing and that she had a right to confront her accusers. The school's attorney had just arrived and tried to calm her down. She brushed him off.

"Ma'am, I am George Jefferson, the attorney for the school; why don't you come into Mr. Benton's office with me and we can calmly discuss what is happening?" he tried to guide her towards the principal's office.

She let out a shriek and yelled several profanities, "Get this damned n****r away from me!" She started hitting at the man and trying to scratch at his eyes.

Tony and Ziva could not stand by and both flashed credentials and badges, "Federal agents." Ziva tried to get between the woman and the attorney, while Tony moved into a position that was nonthreatening and planned to try to talk her down.

She took one look at Ziva and again yelled out, "Get this filthy terrorist away from me; she is the one who is trouble, not me." Ziva had her on the floor before anyone could react. "Did you see what she did to me? I am almost eighty years old and this nonbeliever terrorist trash has the nerve…"

"SHUT UP IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU!" Ziva hissed in the woman's face. She backed away quickly when the woman spit at her; Tony pulled Ziva away.

"Tony, she spit at me…"

"Ken, Ziva, bevaqashah teraga," ( _Please calm down_.)Tony spoke quietly and calmly to his wife, even though he was fuming on the inside. He turned so that he was between the two women, pleading with his eyes for his wife to back off the 'mama bear' mode for a few minutes.

"I am okay, Tony," Ziva locked gazes with her husband and backed off. Tony turned to the attorney next.

"Are you okay, Mr. Jefferson?" he asked and tried to bury a smirk at the man's name.

"Yes; my parents were big fans of the show," George Jefferson gave Tony a small smile as he too backed off some.

Tony turned to Mrs. Griffith who was now seated in a chair and glaring at both Ziva and the attorney. The office assistant who had been mean to Ziva that morning was by her side, trying to tell her that the family attorney was on the way and that she had also called the local police. "Who are you?" Tony asked the younger woman.

"Her niece. Why are you asking me questions? If you are really a federal agent, why aren't you arresting her?" She pointed at Ziva, "She assaulted my aunt. I want to press charges."

Tony turned to Mr. Benton, "How many of the other parents are here?"

"All but one; he is on the way."

"Good. Now here's what we are all going to do," Tony looked around at the others, making sure he had their attention. "First, we are all going to take a deep breath and calm down. Yelling and name calling aren't getting us anywhere." He glared at Mrs. Griffith as he spoke. She opened her mouth to say something, but his authoritative tone stopped her.

"Second, we are all going to listen to what the kids have to say. They are the ones who need to be heard right now." Tony looked to the attorney for confirmation; the man nodded agreement.

"Third, we will all hear Mrs. Griffith out as well. She has a right to tell us her version of events." He looked at Ziva and several of the other parents as he spoke. "If we can do this calmly and as adults, the kids will have some positive role models in this ugly situation."

"I will only talk to him," Mrs. Griffith pointed to Tony. "Daddy told us to trust only white Christians." Her niece nodded as the woman spoke. "Anyone who is not a white Christian is just the worker of the devil."

Tony bit his tongue; he willed himself to keep the thoughts that raced through his head silent. He herded the parents, school personnel, and kids into the conference room, trying to keep his anger to a low simmer. Ziva put a hand on his arm, squeezing it lightly. "You got this, Tony. I am on your six," she whispered so only he could hear. He met her gaze, drawing strength from his better half.

"Mr. Benton, Mr. Jefferson…" Tony motioned for the two to start with taking the kids' statements. The process for each child was to have Mr. Benton explain to the parents and child what they would be doing, the legal aspects of making a statement, and the reiteration to the child that he or she was not in trouble. Parents were given the option to opt out of having their child speak, but none made that choice. Several times, Mrs. Griffith made a sound or glared at the child speaking, but her niece and her attorney quieted her. Tony moved between her and a few of the children when she continued to glare. Ziva also helped with distracting the children from the constant stare and glare of the teacher who had intimidated and frightened many of them. When Kaelyn's turn came, she shyly reached for Ziva's hand as she spoke. After Mr. and Mrs. Hadad nodded their consent, Ziva sat with the girl as she told her story.

Each story was basically the same; the child was singled out for name-calling, punishment for unknown offenses and general bullying. All except one of the children had been put in the closet as punishment multiple times. When Ziva heard that Beth had been in the closet seven times since the start of the school year she nearly lost her composure. She and Tony met gazes and calmed each other with their joined hands. It took everything they had within them to remain calm when Rivka revealed that she had been put in the closet fifteen times! Ziva heard one of the other mothers gasp at Rivka's number. None of the other kids had more than five times in the closet.

When the fifth graders had finished telling their stories, Tali and Anthony were called in to give a statement each. Tali told about being pinched and having her hair pulled as she was punished for sneezing in class, and about being put in the closet for an entire school day after she had accidentally dropped a book on the floor as the school day began. Anthony told about being singled out for every prank or incident that happened in the classroom, even being blamed for things that happened on days he was absent. He, too, had spent entire school days in the closet for no apparent reason. He told of one girl in his class who was not allowed to use the restroom as often as she needed, and that she was then ridiculed for wetting herself by the teacher. When he had tried to defend the girl, he had been made to stand in the closet with his hands tied behind him for two hours. Of all of the students who gave statements, only Anthony had been subjected to having his bare buttocks hit with a switch, once in front of the entire class.

Ziva and Tony were speechless; this was the first they had heard of the issues with their older two. They could hear the other parents talking quietly behind them as Anthony spoke. Ziva held Anthony's hand as tears fell freely as he told of the horrors from his fifth grade year. Tony put an arm around his son's shoulders as more of the tale came out. Even Tali had a look of surprise at all her brother had dealt with three years ago. When Mrs. Griffith had muttered 'Liar' during Anthony's statement, Ziva had to force herself not to do something she would come to regret. Anthony heard the comments and brushed them off the first two times. The third time, he exploded in anger.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A LIAR!" he shouted at the woman who had abused him for an entire school year. "I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL."

Ziva tried to get her son to stop shouting, but Tony shushed her, "Let him get out the anger, Zi."

Anthony looked the woman in the eye, "Whatever you were trying to do to me, if you were trying to break me, it backfired. I know now that it is not my fault, that you are sick and that I am a strong person. I am like my Ima; she is the strongest person I know. It took me two years of talking with my coach in middle school to get to where I can face you now. Even with him I wouldn't identify you by name or tell him all the things you did to me.

"Ima and Abba, I'm sorry that I didn't say something to you. Coach has been encouraging me to tell you both, but until today, I have been…" Anthony was cut off by both of his parents embracing him tightly as his sisters came over to offer support as well.

Ziva wiped at her eyes, "Shh, motek, it is okay… you had the courage to speak out today."

"We got your six, Anthony," Tali spoke quietly so just the family could hear as she placed a hand on her brother's shoulder. Beth and Rivka nodded agreement and each placed a hand on their older brother.

Anthony gave a small smile at his family through his tears, "Toda. I love you all…"


	4. Building a Support System

Chapter 4: Building a Support System

After Anthony's emotional revelation, the principal called for a break for everyone. He had the attorney provide the other families with information about counselling for the kids and how to have their family legal representation contact the school's attorney if needed. All of the families signed confidentiality agreements with the school system. The other families headed home for the day; many of the parents had stopped near Tony and Ziva to offer whatever support they could.

The couple thanked each one, but the understood agreement between both DiNozzos was the need for the family to have some privacy to absorb and process the information they had just learned. While they were waiting for the next stage of the conference, Mrs. Griffith collapsed.

Ziva herded her four back towards the conference room, as far away from the woman as possible. Tony was torn between his family and helping a human in distress. His agent training took over at first. He checked the woman for pulse and breathing.

"You," he pointed at the niece, "Call 911 NOW!" She went to make the call as the school nurse entered the room.

"Pulse is strong, breathing labored, she has been unconscious for about six minutes," Tony informed the nurse as he backed away. "If you got this, I'm going to my family…" The nurse nodded. Tony turned and walked to the conference room. He spotted Ziva and the kids sitting in a group of upholstered chairs near the windows in the room and just about ran to them.

He drew all five into a group hug, "We need to get Gibbs and LJ on board with what went down today. LJ especially… DiNozzos stick together!"

"Like Superglue!" all four children said as one. Tony and Ziva met gazes over the heads of their children; they would get through this latest as they always did, together.

"The unwritten rule," Ziva mouthed to her husband. He nodded; ' _you do what you gotta do for family_.'

The family sat quietly together in the conference room while EMTs arrived and took Mrs. Griffith to the emergency room. The school attorney conferred with the principal as the stretcher was taken to the ambulance. After about ten minutes, they both came over to the DiNozzos.

"Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo," Mr. Jefferson began the conversation. "We are going to suspend the conference for today. Anthony, you were very brave to tell about what happened in front of all the others in the room. I will be contacting your parents about a deposition from you in the near future. My assistant has already contacted the FBI, so I am sure you will be contacted by them soon.

"We strongly suggest that you obtain a lawyer to represent your family in any investigation, litigation and other actions that may arise. I hate to say this, but with both of you being Federal agents, I am sure you are aware that the legal process is not a quick one. If this goes to trial, it will be at least two to three years from now.

"I will have to get the final approval from the school board, but I am sure they will agree. We are offering counselling for Anthony and the girls for as long as they need it. All of their discipline records will be expunged; they will all have a clean slate as of today.

"Mr. Benton will contact you next week about other options that may present themselves as this is investigated and the school board receives recommendations." He indicated to the principal that he could add any additional information at this point.

"Rivka and Beth, there will be a new teacher in your classroom on Monday. I told the others the same thing that I am going to tell you. If you feel that you need to switch classes, please tell me as soon as possible. I want you both to feel safe and comfortable in the classroom for the entire school year. I will do whatever is needed to make sure you have a good school year and that there is no negative fallout from today.

"I know kids talk, and I am sure you are going to have some of the others ask you about today. Remember that your parents have signed a confidentiality agreement with the school board. It's okay to tell anyone who asks about today that you can't talk about it. If anyone persists in giving you trouble or asking questions, especially if it makes you uncomfortable, let me know immediately. I will deal with them. Any questions?" He looked at the family.

"I'm not worried about the kids at the high school; I'm only there two days a week for P.E., but what about Anthony? How do we protect him from the middle school kids?" Tali asked.

Anthony started to protest, but Ziva cut in, "Middle school kids can be cruel. I am concerned about the kids starting rumors and picking on Anthony."

"Ima, I will be fine," Anthony interjected.

Tony put a hand on his son's shoulder, "I think what Ima and Tali are saying is that they don't want you to have to deal with any more stuff right now from someone being mean or starting a false story about you. We'll talk about this some more at home, okay?"

Anthony nodded to his Abba as Mr. Benton made a note to discuss this with Mr. Jefferson and the school board about the concern. "I will be in touch on that one. Honestly, I am not sure how to proceed. I hope you understand." He looked to Mr. Jefferson, who just nodded. He also was not sure as to how to advise the family.

"Are we done for today?" Ziva wanted to get her family home and give them all a chance to unwind from the day's events. After receiving replies to the affirmative from both the principal and the attorney, she led the family out to the mostly empty parking lot.

"We have all three vehicles here," Ziva motioned to their parked vehicles. "Anthony, would you ride in the van with me please? Rivka and Beth, you can ride with Abba in his truck or with Tali in her car."

"I'll ride with Abba," Beth called out.

"I'll go with Tali then," Rivka responded. "That way no one is alone." The family exchanged looks; Rivka had voiced what they had all been thinking.

Anthony got in the passenger seat as Ziva started the engine of her van. She picked up her phone and send Tony a quick text before she backed out of the space to head out. ' _May take the long way home to talk to Anthony_.'

Anthony noticed that his mother turned in the opposite direction from home almost immediately. "Ima, you turned the wrong way."

Ziva glanced at her son, "I did it on purpose so we could talk before we get home." She watched as he sighed and sunk a bit lower in the seat. She drove to a small park about a mile from the school and pulled into the parking lot.

"Anthony, I do not know how to start this conversation, but I have something I want to share with you," Ziva began as she made eye contact with her son. "Please hear me out and then you can talk if you want."

"Ima, I'm fine. I don't need to talk about it," Anthony protested. He really just wanted to go home and go to sleep.

"Anthony, I used to say the same thing to your Abba and others, even when I was not fine. I was trained by Mossad and my father to avoid emotions and to take care of myself. Any requests for help were considered a sign of weakness. Before Abba and I were, um, were…, I was captured by a bad person in Somalia. I was held in a cell for almost three months until your Abba, Uncle Tim and Grandpa came to rescue me. During that time, the man and his…" Ziva choked back a sob, and steeled her resolve to share. She continued, "They did bad things to me, including beating me and torturing me, and I wanted to die to end the misery. I was ready to die and had made peace with it…"

"Ima, did they do, did they, uh, do IT to you?" Anthony was wide-eyed and angry thinking that someone could hurt his Ima that way. He had to know if they had violated her; he didn't understand why he had to know, but he had to.

"Yes, I was raped repeatedly. After, I was told I could not have children because of the damage to my body," Ziva let her tears fall. "But that is another story for when you are older, much older, and not one you need to hear.

"My point is that even though I felt that I could handle it, your Abba and Grandpa knew otherwise. Uncle Leon insisted that I had to go through counseling before I could become an NCIS agent instead of a Mossad liaison. I hated him for that at the time, but looking back now, I know that he was correct. I needed to talk to someone. I needed to get the anger and the hurt out in the open and to confront it and my feelings about it all.

"I guess what I am trying to tell you is that I understand all too well that you want to keep everyone from knowing that you are scared and hurting. I know what it is like to say everything is fine to others just to get them to back off. And I know what it is like to get lost in the bad thoughts in your head. I am here for you if you need to talk, any time. Ani ohevet otcha, Anthony, not because I have to but because I want to. At lo levad, do you understand?" Ziva took her son's face in her hands and looked in his eyes.

"Ken, Ima," Anthony whispered as he melted into his mother's arms and sobbed. Ziva held her boy and sobbed with him, rubbing her hand on his back to soothe and comfort the young man.

After about five minutes, Anthony straightened up and put his hands in his Ima's, "Thank you, Ima. I'm so glad I have you for my Ima. I love you." He wiped at his eyes and smiled through tears at Ziva. Both sniffled and reached for the tissue box on the console.

"Abba knows that I planned to talk to you, but that is all that I am going to say unless you share with him and the others," Ziva explained. "Now, let's go get some pizzas for dinner, because I am hungry!"

"Me, too! I think I can eat a whole pizza by myself, Ima," Anthony buckled up as Ziva started the engine and headed towards home.

"Text Abba and let him know we are bringing food. Ask him to call in the order for us to pick up."

Thirty five minutes later, Ziva and Anthony arrived home with six large pizzas for dinner. Both noted Gibbs' truck in the driveway behind Tony's truck. Before the two got out of the van, Ziva gave Anthony's hand a squeeze, "I am so proud to call you my son, Anthony."

While they were out, Tony and the girls brought LJ and Grandpa into the loop on the day's events. They didn't go into much detail about Anthony's revelations, but gave enough information to let LJ and Gibbs know that it was serious abuse to Anthony. LJ was stunned and quiet at first; he mulled over what Abba and his sisters had just told him. He walked over to his sisters and hugged each one.

"I have your six!" He told each of them as he hugged them. "DiNozzos stick together like Superglue!"

Gibbs was quietly fuming, but let nothing show. He hugged each of the girls, "I'm proud of you for telling what needed to come out. Got your six always!"

As the kids went to set the table and get ready for dinner, Gibbs put a hand on Tony's arm to stop him from following them. "You, Ziver and I will talk more later." Tony nodded his agreement.

Ziva and Anthony came in the door with the food, "Pizza is here; who is hungry?" Ziva called out. LJ came to the door first and hugged his brother trying not to knock the boxes of pizza he was carrying.

"Got your six Anthony! I love you," LJ took the two pizza boxes from Ima and he and Anthony took the food to the dining room table. The rest of the family came into the room and took their seats around the table.

When all were seated, they joined hands around the table, ready for Gibbs to give the blessing for the meal as usual. Gibbs was about to start when Anthony spoke, "Grandpa, may I say the blessing tonight?"

"K."

"Thank you for my family. As I look around the table, I see one of the strongest forces in the world: the love of family. I know that I am going to be okay because you all have my six. I love you, and I am a DiNozzo and…"

"DiNOZZOS STICK TOGETHER LIKE SUPERGLUE!" the whole family spoke with Anthony.

"Bless the food and my family. Let's eat!" Anthony squeezed Ima's hand and LJ's hand on either side of him and smiled at his Ima. He then grabbed the pizza box in front of him and pulled the entire box to his place. "I got mine…"


	5. Resolution Takes Time

Chapter 5: Resolution Takes Time

As much as Tony and Ziva wished for a quick resolution to the whole issue, they both knew from their experiences in law enforcement that the wheels of justice often move slowly. Tony retired from FLETC at the end of the year 2030 and took a part-time coaching job at the middle school. Ziva retired from NCIS at the same time. Both became more active in volunteer activities at the schools. Gibbs hired M. Allison Hart to represent the DiNozzo children.

The three girls went to once per week counseling for about six months each. Dr. Rachel Cranston offered to work with them and when her name came up on the list of possible psychologists that the school board would pay for, Tony and Ziva both picked her out of the list. Ziva remembered how much she had benefited from having Dr. Cranston to talk with as she learned to cope with the aftereffects of Somalia.

Anthony went to sessions with Dr. Grace Confalone for almost two years. He volunteered at a shelter for battered women who had children during his ninth and tenth grade school years when he was not busy with basketball. He and Ziva also developed a new closeness. Anthony vowed to be as strong as his Ima one day. Years later, Anthony would look back at the day his Ima had shared about Somalia with him as the turning point in the close relationship he had with Ziva. On the days that he still had feelings of self-doubt and that he was not worthy of having respect, he often turned to Ziva as his rock in the storm. The whole family was there for him, but his Ima was the one who understood.

Most of the other kids from the twins' class also went to talk with school counselors for part of the fifth grade year. Rivka, Beth, James, Jason, Kaelyn, Amy, Marco, and Jasmine started a school-wide heritage day that continued beyond their time in the schools. Many of the parents of the students who had been subjected to the abuse were among the many presenters who shared their stories and traditions from the country of their origin or their parents' origins during the first two or three annual celebrations.

Mrs. Griffith was never formally charged with any crime. She had been diagnosed with dementia and the doctors treating her supplied a statement that indicated that they believed she was acting out of ingrained paranoia and mistrust of individuals who were not "Southern white Christians." Her parents had just about beaten that fear into her when she was a child growing up in the rapidly desegregating South in the 1950s and 1960s. Much of what she had done to the students in her classes had been what punishments she had witnessed to others and had inflicted on her when she tried to befriend girls in her school who did not fit her parents' norms.

She passed away in September 2033 in a nursing home that was specifically for dementia patients. Anthony asked his Ima to take him to the services for her; he wanted to tell the woman one last time that he forgave her for what she had done to him. Ziva was proud of her son; he was one of only three students who attended the memorial. The other two were Rivka and Beth, who mostly went in support of their older brother. DiNozzos stick together like Superglue; they had told their parents when the two decided to go with Anthony.

The niece was fired from her position at the school. All of the school personnel were required to attend diversity training during in-service days that school year.

On his seventeenth birthday, Anthony celebrated with family and his girl, Katie McGee. After the party wound down, he took Katie to the park where he and Ziva had talked on that day of revelation. He shared with her all that he had been through and how he had put closure on the abuse with the counseling. She was at a loss for words at the things Anthony told her. She listened as he teared up reliving the events of his fifth grade year and held him as he sobbed and asked her to forgive him.

"Why do I need to forgive you?" She was confused.

"For keeping this from you until now," Anthony replied. "You are my soulmate, Katie, and there should be no secrets between us."

Katie stroked his face and wiped his tears, "Anthony, you had to be ready to share. It's okay," she held him as he rested his head on her shoulder and rubbed her hand in circles on his back.

"Thank you, babe. Thank you…" Anthony knew that his love for his life partner had grown that evening, and he knew that he could face anything with her by his side for the rest of their lives. His love was now his rock in the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N This fic was a difficult one to write for so many reasons. A child who is abused, be it physical, emotional, sexual or other type of abuse, does not learn to hate the abuser. He/she learns to hate self. Elementary school aged kids are in a bit of fear of the authority figure and when that person does something bad to the child, the first thoughts the child has are 'I am bad' and 'I deserve this' to justify and make sense of the abuse in their minds. Parents and teachers are supposed to be "good" and the "person who is correct" in a child's eyes. Bullying as I depicted in this story is a form of emotional abuse. Those who are Ziva fans know that Eli basically bullied his eldest two children. He was an emotional abuser to Ziva and that self-loathing and self-punishment that she showed many times most likely came from that abuse. I can identify with her character deeply and that's probably why she's my favorite character to write, albeit not an easy write. Senior did similar to Tony; and again, I can identify with the character. He's my second favorite to write. This is also why I am no fan of Senior in my stories. He was cruel to a young Tony who only wanted his love and attention.**
> 
> **Please, if you know of a child who is being bullied or abused or even suspect that it is happening, reach out to that child. You may be the one person who is the impetus for change in that child's world. Children are resilient, to a point, but those who suffer at the hands of an abuser cannot see themselves as a person of worth. For those who think screening and background checks in school systems should be "weeding out" these bullies, think again. If they are never reported, there is no record. From forty two years of teaching experience, I have seen more than I should of adults who use their positions of authority and power over the children as a means to bully. Every child deserves to be loved and feel that he/she is a person of worth and someone who deserves to be loved.**
> 
> **Anthony is lucky that his family, especially his parents, understand what is running through his mind. In families where one child is the one who is the target, the others are often unaware or in denial of the abuse. They may even accuse the targeted child of making up stories to get attention, or lying or worse. That makes building a support network even more difficult for the child. The withdrawn child who is a loner, picked on, or teased may be dealing with a lot worse and no one knows except the child and the abuser. Reaching out to the child can literally save a life! Anthony's coach reached out, but because Anthony did not give names or details, the coach's hands were tied. When a teacher or coach has a child confide about abuse or bullying, they are obligated to report, but without details most times the report is filed away and nothing is done. A teacher who reports several instances is often a 'marked' person within the school or system. It's a fine line to walk and one that I hope most adults do not have to deal with ever. I pray for the children who suffer in silence, the adults who try to help, and even the abusers.**
> 
> **Thanks for reading. Thank you too to all who left kudos.**


End file.
